Oil removal and gauging apparatus



y 1962 J. A. EDGAR ETAL 3,033,311

OIL REMOVAL AND GAUGING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1959 FIG. 1

l0 FIG. III

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FIG. III

INVENTORS:

J. A. EDGAR F. R. WATSON IV. D. gum! THEIR ATTORNEY United States PatentOfihce 3,933,311 Patented May 8, 1962 3,033,311 01L REMOVAL AND GAUGINGAPPARATUS John A. Edgar, Martinez, Calif., and Frederic R. Watson,Westport, Conn, assignors to Shell Oil Company, New York, N.Y., acorporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 786,830 1 Claim.(61. 134-15) This invention relates to internal combustion engines andis particularly directed to the provision of means for effecting a rapidand efiicient draining of the lubricating oil from the crankcase of anengine.

Heretofore it has been the practice in changing the oil in the crankcaseof automobile engines to elevate the automobile by means of a hoist orto run it over a pit and remove a drain plug from the bottom of thecrankcase so that the oil may flow by gravity into a suitable container.After replacement of the drain plug, fresh oil is poured into thecrankcase through a filler pipe situated on the upper part of thecrankcase or situated on the valve cover.

As will be apparent, the above system of changing the oil in a crankcaseis both time-consuming and inconvenient.

Another approach to the problem of removing the oil from the crankcasehas been to insert a small diameter tube through the dipstick opening inthe. top of the crankcase and by means of a suitable pump withdraw theoil to a container for disposal. Such an arrangement has an advantagethat the necessity of putting the car on a hoist or over a pit andremoving the drain plug is avoided. However, the employment of such aninsert tube is not in many cases possible as the dip stick opening iseither of too small a diameter or is inaccessible. A furtherdisadvantage in the use of such a withdrawal tube is that there is insome cases no assurance to the operator or owner of the automobile thatthe tube has been inserted to the bottom of the crankcase andsubstantially all the oil withdrawn.

It is an object of our invention to devise a rapid oil removal system.

A further object is to devise an oil change means for withdrawing theoil without the insertion of a temporary withdrawal tube into thecrankcase. v

A further object is to provide a combined dip stick casing and oilwithdrawal tube on the crankcase of an engine.

The further objects of our invention will be apparent from the followingdescription.

In brief, our invention comprises the provision of a tube of sufficientdiameter to form a sheath or guide tube for the dip stick on an internalcombustion engine and to extend this tube inside the crankcase to thebottom thereof. The external upper end of the tube is provided withmeans for connecting the inlet of a pump for withdrawal of the crankcaseoil.

The further details of our invention will be understood from thedetailed description of an embodiment thereof throughout which referenceis made to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. I is a fragmentary sectional view of an internal combustion engineshowing a dip stick in place.

FIG. II is a similar view of the engine shown in FIG. I with dip stickremoved and connection made to an oil withdrawal mechanism.

FIG. III is a longitudinal section of an alternative form dip stickcasing.

FIG. IV is an enlarged sectional view of the coupling means shown inFIG. II.

The internal combustion engine, only part of which is shown, generallyindicated by numeral 1, is provided with a crankcase 2. Into this aremovable oil dip stick or rod 3 extends part way. Surrounding the rod 3is a casing or sheath 4 which is attached to and forms part of theengine construction. The sheath in the form shown in FIGS. I and II,extends into the crankcase at an angle and is provided with a lower openend 5 which is normal to the longitudinal axis of the sheath. By suchconstruction, oil 6 in the crankcase can readily seek its own levelinside the sheath, there being an ample opening provided from theinterior of the crankcase to the interior of the sheath in View of thesheath meeting the bottom face of the crankcase at an angle less than derees. An oil drainage sump 7 may be formed below the lower end of thesheath. The upper end of the sheath 4 extends beyond the exteriorsurface of the engine 1 so that attachment of external piping canreadily be made. The upper end of the dip stick 3 can be provided with aflange 8 so as to cover the upper end of the sheath and prevent theingress of dirt and to prevent crankcase fumes from escaping at thispoint.

FIG. II shows an engine 1 being serviced by having the oil of itscrankcase 2 removed by means of our invention. As will be seen byreference to this figure and to FIG. IV, the dip stick 3 has beenremoved and a coupling member 9 on the end of a flexible pipe and havinga suitable tapered sleeve 11 attached by push-fit to the sheath 4 so asto provide an airtight joint. The sleeve 11 is preferably made of oilresistant rubber or other suitable elastorner. The flexible pipe or hose10 is connected at its other end to rigid piping leading to the inletof. a suitable pump such as a gear pump 12 driven by an airmotor 13. Thegear pump 12 and airmotor 13 can be mounted on the top of a container ordrum 14 having casters 15. The outlet of the pump 12 can be arranged todischarge into the drum through pipe 16. A faucet 17 at the bottom ofthe drum permits the removal of accumulated used oil for ultimatedisposal.

A transparent section 18 can be installed near the inlet to the pump 12.The airmotor 13 is provided with a chuck or other connection 19 so thatan air line connected to a source of air pressure can be used to operatethe motor.

An indicator knob 23 attached by a shaft 24, to a float Z5 is located inthe top of the container 14. The shaft 24 passes through a loose fittingsleeve 26 in the top sheet of the container 14. As will be apparent uponthe level of used oil rising sufficiently, the indicator knob willbecome elevated thus warning the service station attendant that thecontainer 14 requires emptying.

In utilizing our invention to change the oil in the crankcase of anengine, such as that of an automobile, an operator removes the dip stick3 from the engine and connects the flexible pipe 10 leading to the pump12. On starting up the airmotor 13, the pump will draw oil from. thecrankcase 2 and discharge it into the drum 14. By observing the flowpast the transparent section 18 it can be determined when the oil hasbeen withdrawn and air is being sucked into the end 5 of the sheath 4.The pumping is then stopped, the hose disconnected from the sheath, andthe drum 14 moved away by means of the casters. Fresh oil is then pouredinto the crankcase through the usual filler pipe and the dip stick 3replaced.

in the sheath.

Instead of providing the lower end of the sheath 4 with an opening asshown in FIGS. 1 and II, the lower end may be provided with deepserrations or indentations 20 such as shown in FIG. III. This type ofopening for the oil will be desirable in engines where the dip stick andsheath are mounted vertically in the crankcase. With a verticallymounted dip stick sheath the lower end thereof could, if desired, be cutoff diagonally to ensure free entry of oil into the sheath.

We have found that very satisfactory results are obcrankcase of internalcombustion engines.

tained when employing a withdrawal pipe of 7 internal diameter andhaving a wall thickness of &

As shown in FIG. II, a shut-off valve 28 is preferably mounted at thepump inlet and a valved inlet 29 connected by means of a pipe T piece30, the inlet 29 being provided with a suitable connection for a sourceof air under pressure. The purpose of the above is as follows: Undersome operating conditions sludge forms in the This sludge is in somecases of a viscous nature and in other cases substantially solid. Withthe use of our sheath-oil withdrawal pipe it is possible that amounts ofsludge could remain in the sheath at the end of the oil removal or couldblock or partially block the opening in the bottom of the sheath.Accordingly, to ensure that sludge does not remain so lodged and therebyefliect subsequent readings of oil levels on the dip stick, the valve 22is preferably closed after all oil is removed from the crankcase. An airhose then can be connected to the valved inlet 29 and air under pressureforced into the sheath and associated piping. By this procedure anysludge in the sheath 4 will be blown back into the crankcase and awayfrom the lower end 5 of the sheath.

While we prefer to use an airmotor to drive the pump, in view of thereadily availability of air under pressure at most oil service stations,it will be realized that other motive power such as an electric motor ora hand-cranked pump could be used in place of an air motor.

Instead of providing air blow-back system as above to clean out thewithdrawal pipe, we may provide that the pump 12 is reversible and thatpipe 16 extend to the bottom of container 14. By a back pumping of fluidinto the crankcase 2 for short periods, a scouring of the crankcase andwithdrawal pipe can be obtained to remove solid deposits such as sludgetherein.

While we have shown in FIG. II a drum 14 for receiving the oil withdrawnfrom the crankcase, in some cases we may provide that the discharge pipe16 terminate in a pail or other open container. By the abovearrangement, the customer can readily see the quantity of the oil andthe condition thereof as it is withdrawn from the crankcase of his car.

In the embodiment of the invention a straight dip stick sheath is shown,we can, however, where desired, employ a dip stick sheath of curvedshape. Such a curved dip stick sheath and a somewhat flexible dip stickwould be particularly adapted for use in internal combustion engineshaving sump sections of their crankcases relatively inaccessible.

While we have shown a dip stick sheath having a smooth exterior upperend whereby connection to an oil removal pump by a push-fit typecoupling can be made, it will be realized that we may provide threads,lugs or other common pipe coupling elements thereon whereby a quickair-tight joint may be made with the oil withdrawal means.

Besides incorporating our dip stick sheath as part of the crankcaseconstruction of an automotive or other engine, we also contemplate theadaption of our invention to automotive transmissions, gear boxes, andthe like, which have a supply of fluid lubricant contained therein. Goodmaintenance practice requires that the level of fluid therein beperiodically checked, the contents drained and replenished with freshfluid. This requirement is especially necessary with transmissions ofthe automatic type. The application to other machinery having an oilbath case, such as industrial transmissions, marine engines andtransmissions, farm equipment, et cetera, is contemplated.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated by way of example, it will be obvious that changes may bemade therein within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forthin the appended claim.

We claim as our invention:

In an internal combustion engine: a crankcase, a dip stick extendinginto said crankcase, a thin walled, uniform diameter tubular sheath insaid crankcase surrounding said dip stick and extending to the bottom ofthe crankcase, an opening in the lower end of said sheath for theadmission of oil thereto, the wall of said sheath being imperforatethroughout its length, the upper end of said sheath protrudingexternally beyond the wall of the crankcase and adapted for connectionto external suction piping by push-fit connection, the highest point ofsaid opening in the lower end of said sheath being substantially at thebottom of said crankcase whereby the crankcase can be emptied throughsaid tubular sheath upon the application of suction thereto.

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